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Brazil’s Rio Olympics hero favours move to Barcelona over Manchester United as ‘Neymar factor’ comes into play

Brazil’s Rio Olympics hero Gabriel Barbosa has admitted that he wants to play alongside his compatriot Neymar at Barcelona.

Barbosa – nicknamed Gabigol – was part of the the Brazil team which claimed the gold medal at the Rio Olympics over the weekend.

“Up until now, I haven’t really had the time to think about anything because my attention was completely on the Olympics,” Barbosa was quoted as saying by The Sun.

“Now I will celebrate with my family, then I will return to Santos and think about what I should do.”

“He [Neymar] is a great player and playing alongside him would truly be beautiful.”

Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the Brazilian wonder-kid according to a report in The Sun, although based on his comments, it appears as though he would favour the chance to feature with Neymar for the Catalan giants.

Per-the-source, the Red Devils are readying a £30 million offer for the 19-year-old striker in a bid to scare off interest from rival clubs. The Sun goes on to state that United are in pole position to sign Barbosa this summer and are aiming to finalise the deal within 48 hours.

The 19-year-old has been in impressive form at club level this season having scored five goals in 10 appearances in all competitions for Santos this season.

In turn, if United harbour ambitions of signing him, they’ll have to do so relatively quickly with the transfer deadline fast approaching.